Introducing….the Chesapeake Fields Farmers Cooperative, Inc.

The Cooperative offers farmers an opportunity to capture part of the profits made by the middleman. It is thought these extra profits will help preserve farmland and farmers.

Chesapeake Fields Institute initiated the formation of the Chesapeake Fields Farmer’s Cooperative (CFF Cooperative) to provide Delmarva’s farmers with an opportunity to benefit from value-added dollars. Members will be pro-active farmers who grow identity preserved (IP) crops sold to local, national and international customers who desire the specific attributes of those crops; the Cooperative will share the premiums paid for these IP crops with the members.

The Cooperative is now incorporated and by-laws are being developed by its Executive Committee. The USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service Technical Assistance program guided the development of the Cooperative.

The Cooperative searches for customers wanting IP specialty grains and oil seeds that are GMO, non-GMO, organic, or non-organic. Currently four crops – natto-type soybeans, snack soybeans, popcorn and wheat-- are being grown and sold nationally and internationally. In 2003 and 2004, natto-type bean growers were paid 85 cents per bushel over the CBOT price.

Chesapeake Fields Institute’s previous work gives the Cooperative a well-established track record. At the end of 2004, over 33 farmers from eight Maryland counties grew almost 5,000 acres of identity preserved crops. The 2004 natto-type soybean contract resulted in 87 containers shipped from the Port of Baltimore. These farmers received $59,994.40 in premiums for following the IP protocol – this is $60,000 that would not be in our communities without the efforts of Chesapeake Fields.

The Cooperative seeks members who are goal oriented farmers willing to be team players and go the extra mile by following the protocol required by identity preserved grains. To prosper in the Cooperative they should be:

  • interested in capturing a larger share of the consumer’s food dollar
  • willing to follow the IP protocol procedures
  • willing to guarantee acres of production of the required crops according to the number of share purchased
  • able to store or to find storage for these IP segregated crops
To become a member you must:
  • purchase a Cooperative membership
  • buy and commit a certain number of acres to fill the Cooperative’s current needs
  • arrange for storage of the IP crops you grow

The Cooperative’s membership drive will close when the goals are reached and remain closed unless additional needs arise. Please click here for additional information or to receive membership information.

Chesapeake Fields Institute
709 Morgnec Road | Chestertown, MD 21620
410-810-2082 (voice) | 410-778-9075 (fax)
www.chesapeakefields.com | coop@chesapeakefields.com

Website/cooperative/incorporated 9-13-05


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